WATTYS 2022 SHORTLIST EDITOR'S CHOICE -- SEPTEMBER 2021 EXCLUSIVE CHAPTERS AND WRITER'S REVEAL CONTENT AVAILABLE - NOT A PAID STORY Appearances can be deceiving. What if the Bad Boy wasn't so bad and the good girl wasn't quite so good? Kelly Wankum has an unfortunate last name and even worse luck. By the tender age of twenty-three, she's broken her tailbone, thumb, her nose, hip, and now her rib. It wouldn't be so bad if she could say something funny like, "I broke myself on a stripper pole" or "I was mugged in a Walmart parking lot." That would actually be believable, right? Instead, she breaks her rib reaching for a ball of yarn. Even worse, everyone knows she's so accident prone, she could sneeze and lose a tooth. They'd probably bet on her swallowing it in a pancake. Oh wait, she's done that too. Another trip to the Urgent Care has the doctors shaking their heads, offering to pray for her health while new, sexy Doctor Blake Cole immediately gets off on the wrong foot. Months after their first encounter, Blake and Kelly meet again by chance. After inadvertantly humiliating her, Blake tries to set things straight and make it up to her. The problem is, Blake's lifestyle is painfully different, and Kelly can't help imagining him like every bad boy she's ever read about online. Can Blake convince her to give him a chance and prove he's actually a good guy? **This story is set in the present and the pandemic is part of the narrative.** --Cover by AnnieRosebud-- ©2020, 2022

Victoria, a 26 year old medical billing and coding specialist, has had enough with her current position in life. Her boyfriend of six years hasn't been contributing to their relationship, and hasn't worked in months. Every day she comes home from work, he's drunk, his friends are over, and their apartment is a mess from his partying ways. She comes home to something she didn't expect to see and breaks up with him. She tries getting him to move out, in which he refuses to, and later causes a scene in front of the last person she wanted it to happen in front of. A new doctor starts at the clinic she works and learns he bought the clinic, unhappy with the way it looks and the way things were ran, he starts making changes. Once he meets Victoria, and sees what kind of attitude she has, he decides he'll have a little fun with her, pissing her off. Victoria is not a fan of the new doctor, in fact, she despises him, and comes up with a nickname for him. The doctor takes a liking to her, and senses she likes him too, even though it shows differently. He comes on to her, she responds, surprising herself. With everything going on in her life, she want's a change, is afraid of change, but after her first kiss with Doctor Jones, she becomes hooked, and wants more. She knows what she wants, and feels she will give him a chance, until someone tries killing her chances with him. Eventually the two hook up, and both end up craving for more, getting it every chance they can. Can the two continue on with their affair without their peers figuring it out? Will her ex stay out of their way? Credit for cover by www.selfpubbookcovers.com/andrewgraphics

Ryker Cooper an undercover private investigator/detective takes a liking to a shy barista Talia Flores, after finally getting to know her and getting her to open up to him he tries asking her out on a date to which she refused without giving a reason. Ryker had been out of town for a few days and when he got back he decided to head to see the barista he adored. One morning he walked into the coffee shop and was shocked to see a different gal working behind the counter and asked where Talia was, worried that he had scared her off. He was then informed that she hadn't shown up for a few days but that she had also overheard her boss on the phone and that Talia had come home to find out that her parents had been murdered. He went to work to look up recent murder cases in the area thinking that was where her parents were murdered. When he couldn't find anything he went out looking for her. He found her in hiding and very afraid, she explained to him that her parents were in Mexico and had been murdered, and that she was informed she would be next. There is a new man who started coming in to Talia's work and kept asking her out, she started to get creeped out by the guy when he wouldn't leave her alone. Ryker happened to be in the coffee and witnessed the man harassing Talia and asked the guy to leave her alone that she was his fiance. She was shocked but went a long with it, the man started stalking her, to keep her safe and figure out if he was connected to her parents murder he asked her to move in with him. While he posed as her fiance, he tried showing her the world and tried to get her to fall in love with him. Will it work? Or will she leave once they find out who the killer is? Do you like twists and turns?? Do you like making your mind think?? Read on! Credit for cover made by https://selfpubbookcovers.com/vikncharlie

A very heartwarming, romantic story with lots of humor. Never say miracles never happen because they can... After breaking up and leaving her boyfriend in Vegas and dealing with a sexy, cocky, egotistical man on an airplane that made for one long, terrible flight home, Lola needed a night of fun to help her forget the worst day of her life. Lola and her friend Monique went out drinking later that night, and while at a nightclub, Lola read a message on the bathroom stall wall that said for a good time call... Since she was in a mood and on a mission to mess with someone's mind, she called the number on the stall's wall. What could possibly go wrong when you last remember drinking with your best friend in Miami and waking up in Vegas the very next morning "sober" next to a man you despise? And you're married. Lola and Ryder soon discover they signed an agreement to be married for a year, with a list they're supposed to follow, and if they break the agreement, there are consequences. The story will bring you laughs, warm your heart, and bring you to tears with the hearts of Lola and Ryder, who'll show you the true meaning of love with their selfless acts, especially when it concerns a seven-year-old girl with leukemia. Credit for cover: selfpubbookcovers.com/kshipley

While lifeguarding in Malibu one summer, I met a stunningly beautiful woman named Shiloh that was vacationing with her friends. After hitting it off, we practically hung out every day. We hiked Solstice Canyon with her friends. I brought her to Hollywood Boulevard to see the stars and took her to the Pacific Park at the Santa Monica Pier. I also took her paragliding over the mountains and the Pacific Ocean. Neither of us was looking for a relationship, but the more time we spent together, the more I wanted her all to myself--forever. As summer ended, and knowing Shiloh was getting ready to head back home to Vegas, I gave her a birthday she'd never forget. Literally. We spent that entire weekend together, but when I awoke--she was gone. For two years, I searched for her. I explored the beaches and dragged my friends to Vegas to help me search, hoping to find her and tell her how I felt--but no such luck. Then, one hot summer day, I was at the beach tower working when I saw her. But she wasn't by herself. She was with a heavily tattooed man and a little girl. Shiloh was just as beautiful as I remembered, but the little girl playing in the sand had me questioning who she was since she looked about a year old. I did the math, and now my question is this... Is that little girl with the dark curly hair mine? Credit for cover: https://selfpubbookcovers.com/VonnaArt

Second Chance Romance Love-at-first sight--faster-paced love affair Single father Surprise baby HEA standalone Five years ago, my life changed when my wife left my two-year-old son and me in the middle of the night-breaking my heart. After that, I vowed to friends and family that I'd never fall in love again and would only focus on raising my autistic son and working on my farm and horse ranch. That was until a beautiful blonde-haired, green-eyed beauty moved to my town--changing my life forever. Being stubborn, I did everything I could not to let my ticker control me and my thinking process--avoiding eye contact with Josie, conversations, and what my ticker, mind, and soul was telling me... But then I saw Josie daily at the diner she worked at and became jealous whenever Jack, the town's annoying wanna-be cowboy, tried striking a relationship up with her. I always felt my wife, Hailey, would return to Maverick and me, and we'd be a family again. But the more time I focused on the new girl in town, the more I wanted Hailey out of my life, and the more I wanted Josie in mine. Then, one night, my life forever changed when I allowed a door to open and gave Josie something I said I'd never give--my ticker. Credit for cover: selfpubbookcovers.com/AKcoverdesign

"If you're brave enough to say goodbye, life will reward you with a new hello." - Paulo Coelho With that said, goodbye to the wrong woman in my life and hello to my reward-whoever she is... I owe my newfound thought process to the woman I befriended and become my best friend for life--Shiloh. She taught me many things. What she taught me the most was how to love, that I can love, and that I will love. My heart expanded like never before the day she had her little girl, and I was over the moon with how that moment made me feel--even though that moment cost me ten stitches to the forehead. I enjoyed the swelling feeling of my heart so much that it had me wishing I'd, too, find my soulmate. I never thought I'd hear the day for me to say I'd like to find that remarkable woman to settle down with for the rest of my life and wish to expand my family tree. But here I am, looking to do just that. The day Sawyer walked into my Tattoo parlor, my heart reacted in a way it never had before for any woman I crossed paths with. The beautiful blonde had my heart racing, my palms sweating, and the unit behind my pants twitching. I also felt nervous and feverish, which is not like me. And if that's what feeling in love feels like, then I'm determined to do whatever it takes to win her love. Cover artist: www.selfpubbookcovers.com/billwyc

Keep the ones that heard you , When you never said a word. Nate Segler has spent most of his life in the spotlight. He's knew that baseball was his game from a very young age and this was the path he wanted. He and his brother, Dillon, with their friend Reese are the stars of the Anaheim Angels. Taking their division team to finals every year and playoffs for the World Series. This year won't be an exception. Women only come with the territory. One night, fate makes a change. Nate's world collapses, when he's not just injured, but could be facing the end of his career. In one play, Nate is forced to take a long look at what he wants, when he benched from his injury. Not wanting to call it quits, Nate knows surgery is the only answer giving him a chance. When Nate literally runs into Kayleigh Thomas, he learns that not every woman is the same. A few are special. Kayleigh is a challenge for Nate that is too good to resist. She is different from every woman he knows. She's distant, distracted and completely unimpressed with his status. Loving a good challenge, Nate gets lined up in the strike zone and aims for a home run. Mature content readers advised

If something can go wrong it usually will. Abby has had to work hard for the things she wanted. Juggling three jobs she tends to burn the candle at both ends to make her ends meet. As an independent, hard working and selfless person, who takes care of herself and relies on no one, Abby's life takes an altering turn when she meets a man that is ready to take on everything life can throw at him, including Abby's past. Oliver Steel grew up in a wealthy and prestigious family. He is a successful model and actor and is in desperate need of an assistant. Endorsement deals, fundraising events and promotions, on top of filming and script reading and planning for the next step of his career has made Oliver's life crazy. Putting a request out for an assistant, Oliver only hopes to find someone fast. Abby's job is simple she is to drop off the celebrity assignments for the fundraiser for the weekend but when Oliver thinks she's there's about the assistant position, her world gets turned upside down. No matter how many times she says no, Oliver is a man who doesn't take no for an answer. He just has no idea how much he just took on when Abby's past crashes down on them.